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of the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian chain. The Appalachians stretch for
2,100miles fromAlabama toCanada andwereoncehigherthantheHimalayas (Ireadthat
onabookofmatchesonceandhavebeenwaitingyearsforanopportunitytouseit),though
now they are smallish and rounded, fetching rather than dramatic. All along their length
theygobydifferentnames-theAdirondacks,Poconos,Catskills,Alleghenies.Iwasheaded
for the Smokies, but I intended to stop en route at the Biltmore Estate, just outside Ashev-
ille, North Carolina. Biltmore was built by George Vanderbilt in 1895 and was one of the
biggest houses ever constructed in America-a 255-room pile ofstone in the style ofa Loire
chateau, on grounds of 1o,000 acres. When you arrive at Biltmore you are directed to park
your car and go into a building by the gate to purchase your ticket before proceeding onto
theestate.IthoughtthiswascuriousuntilIwentintothebuildinganddiscoveredthatagay
afternoon at Biltmore would involve a serious financial commitment. The signs telling you
the admission fee were practically invisible, but you could see from the ashen-faced look
on people as they staggered away from the ticket windows that it must be a lot. Even so I
was taken aback when my turn came and the unpleasant-looking woman at the ticket win-
dow told me that the admission fee was $17.50 for adults and $13 for children. “Seventeen
dollars and fifty cents!” I croaked. “Does that include dinner and a floor show?”
The woman was obviously used to dealing with hysteria and snide remarks. In a monotone
she said, “The admission fee includes admission to the George Vanderbilt house, of which
50 Of the 250 rooms are open to the public. You should allow two to three hours for the
self-guided tour. It also includes admission to the extensive gardens for which you should
allow thirty minutes to one hour. It also includes admission and guided tour of the winery
with audiovisual presentation and complimentary wine tasting. A guide to the house and
grounds, available for a separate charge, is recommended. Afterwards you may wish to
spend further large sums of money in the Deerpark Restaurant or, if you are a relatively
cheapperson,intheStableCafe,aswellasavailyourselfoftheopportunitytobuyexpens-
ive gifts and remembrances in the Carriage House Gift Shop.”
But by this time I was already on the highway again, heading for the Great Smoky Moun-
tains, which, thank God, are free.
IdrovetenmilesoutofmywayinordertospendthenightinBrysonCity,amodestself-in-
dulgence. It was a small, nondescript place of motels and barbecue shacks strung out along
a narrow river valley on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There is
little reason to go there unless your name happens to be Bryson, and even then, I have to
tellyou,thepleasureisintermittent.IgotaroomintheBennett'sCourtMotel,awonderful
oldplacethatappearednottohavechangedabitsince1956,apartfromanoccasionallight
dusting. It was precisely as motels always used to be, with the rooms spread out along a
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